The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Aster plant, botanically known as Aster hybrida and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Yoballad’.
The new Aster is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Leamington, Ontario, Canada and Alva, Fla. The objective of the program is to develop new potted Aster cultivars that have a uniform plant growth habit, good vigor and strong branching habit, numerous inflorescences, desirable inflorescence form and floret colors, uniform flowering response and good postproduction longevity.
The new Aster originated from an open-pollination made by the Inventor during the fall of 1999, in Leamington, Ontario, Canada, of the Aster hybrida cultivar Professor Kippenberg, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unknown Aster hybrida selection, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Aster was discovered and selected by the Inventor in January, 2001, as a single flowering plant from within the resulting progeny of the stated open-pollination grown in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla.
The selection of this plant was based on its uniform plant growth habit, good vigor and strong branching habit, numberous inflorescences, desirable inflorescence form and floret colors, uniform flowering response and good postproduction longevity.
Asexual reproduction of the new Aster by vegetative tip cuttings was first conducted in Alva, Fla. in March, 2001. Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features of this new Aster are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.